Splatoon: The Corruption of Ink

Chapter 18: Near the Beginning of the End

"I'm sorry... I... We shouldn't have forced you to follow our dreams... We should have let you follow your own dreams. But whatever you plan to do now... Go for it. Continue on with what you trust. And never give up..."

***

The most recognizable city of the squid island chain became clearly visible from the boat. The ruins of Inkopolis cast a dark shade on the boat Silver, Sapphire, Thalia, Phoenix, and DJ Octavio riding on, as well as the remains of the construction of Hammerhead Bridge. Obviously, the fire in Inkopolis Plaza had subsided, though leaving infrastructure charred and unlivable.

Behind Inkopolis City and the natural territory were the mountains that separated Inkopolis and their target, Octo Valley. They were almost there. It could be the possible end to all this fighting.

But were they really ready for what was to come?

This time, DJ Octavio was smart, so he carefully steered the boat between the mines as they neared Port Mackerel. Those mines were visible from where DJ Octavio was steering the ship, so it was easy for him to avoid it, along with the help of Thalia and Phoenix.

Sapphire sighed as she shoved her phone in her pocket. She had been texting Aiden and Chloe to see what they were up to, but learned that they were returning to the Tentatique-Rockenberg war zone because of news that the squids kept getting pushed back. At least, Sean's recuperation was all set, and all he needed was a few weeks of rest.

Silver gave Sapphire a knowing smile and put his hand on her shoulder. Recently, he learned that his parents and a lot of other inexperienced battlers were going to the war zone to fight. Sapphire's father and his mother told him that they were planning on bringing all their turf war weapons and launching special attacks on the opposing side. From that point on, he was proud of his mother, and he began to trust her even more.

Though, before the group left Firefin Town, Sheldon had news for them about the Octarians. Even more refugees and rebels sided with the Squids, decreasing the number of fighters on the Octarians' side. But, even with the extended number of fighters on the Squids' side, the most experienced of the Octarians remained on their original side. Their ancient weapons, such as snipers, Gatling guns, shotguns, and varietal explosives, proved to be a devastation to the Squids.

Everyone on the boat wanted the war to end. Even DJ Octavio. His plan had gone on too far. And he wanted to end it. The fighting back in Tentatique-Rockenberg influenced them to keep going and too keep fighting. They had already arrived at Port Mackerel, and there was no turning back.

***

All was still, all was quiet. After the group silently arrived in Port Mackerel, they split up into two different groups. DJ Octavio went to reclaim eastern Inkopolis alone so he could try to deceive any Octarians who thought he was still their king. Silver, Sapphire, Thalia, and Phoenix went left and made an attempt to reclaim western Inkopolis. Even if they were highly suspected, they had a larger force to fight. At noontime, the five would meet outside Inkopolis Plaza.

In the western areas of Inkopolis, Silver, Sapphire, Thalia, and Phoenix had no troubles at all. In fact, there were no alive enemies. They were all mysteriously kicked off to the side and lifeless.

"Silver?" Thalia tugged on his sleeve. "Why is everyone dead already?"

Silver squinted his eyes and scanned the entire area. He even took out a sniper and looked through the small windows of tall buildings. Some of them were damaged from past warfare. When he found that there was no one to be seen, he shook his head at Thalia. "I... have no idea..."